Externalizing Human Rights: From Commission to Council, the Universal Periodic Review and Egypt

Critics of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and its successor, the Human Rights Council (HRC), focus on member state efforts to protect themselves and allies from external pressure for human rights implementation. Even though HRC members still shield rights abusers, the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) subjects all states to regular scrutiny, and provides substantial new space for domestic NGOs to externalize domestic human rights demands. This paper offers an institutional account of the expansion of NGO externalization opportunities from the CHR to the HRC, and during UPR institution building and Egypt’s 2010 UPR. It draws on 45 longitudinal, open-ended interviews with Egyptian human rights activists, donors, and other observers conducted in 2007 and 2010.     

The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Six,One, or None?

Aggregate indexes of the quality of governance, covering large samples of countries, have become popular in comparative political analysis. Few studies examine the validity or reliability of these indexes. To partially fill this gap, this study uses factor, confirmatory factor and path analysis to test both measurement and causal models of the six Worldwide Governance indicators. They purportedly measure distinct concepts of control of corruption, rule of law, government effectiveness, rule quality, political stability, and voice and accountability. Rather than distinguishing among aspects of the quality of governance, we find that they appear to be measuring the same broad concept.     

Raising wages in the controlled sector: A comment on Elliott

This case study from Eastern Zambia challenges the thesis that after independence an elite of privileged farmers entrenched itself through domination of the local political arena and a coalition with the civil service. It argues that such a view may be a reification due to misplaced assumptions about historical continuity and the uniformity of social behaviour; a lack of attention to the actual operation of government departments at the lowest levels; and neglect of how people construct ways of life on the basis of different interpretations of the world.     

Is Germany Going Bananas? Life Cycle and Cohort Effects on Party Performance in Germany from 1953 to 2049

In the public debate concerning the consequences of demographic change in Germany it is often argued that the rising share of older voters will help the CDU/CSU to consolidate its power. This argumentation only applies if the age effect is assumed to be dominant. However, diverse socialisation backgrounds, captured by the cohort effect, also have to be taken into account. Based on the Repräsentative Wahlstatistik (Representative Electoral Statistic, RES) and Population Forecasts, the consequences of demographic shifts for federal elections since 1953 are estimated, as well as for future elections. First, age, cohort and period effects on vote choice for previous elections are calculated by using cohort analysis. Second, these effects are applied to the future age distribution. The results show that the ‘greying’ electorate is expected to favour the CDU/CSU and the FDP, while especially the SPD is likely to suffer electoral losses due to demographic shifts.     

Introduction: The Territory of Identity and Remembrance in Okinawa

Abstract

All Cambodian population statistics, of whatever period, include a large measure of hypothesis, assumption, extrapolation, and pure guesswork, and they may not be adequate for the type of calculations undertaken by either Kiernan or myself.

Ben Kiernan's “Orphans of Genocide: The Cham Muslims of Kampuchea under Pol Pot” (BCAS vol. 20, no. 4, Oct.–Dec. 1988) is an interesting study of the experience of the Chams during 1975–79, and as such makes a valuable contribution to the still too little known social history of Democratic Kampuchea (DK). Unfortunately Kiernan has tinkered with the statistics in a tendentious manner in an attempt to prove the case for genocide in Democratic Kampuchea.     

The composition and interests of Russia’s business lobbies: testing Olson’s hypothesis of the “encompassing organization”

Why are some business lobbies less benign in their external effects than others? In The rise and decline of nations (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982), Mancur Olson proposed that less-encompassing groups—i.e., those whose constituents collectively represent a relatively narrow range of interests—have a greater interest in seeking the types of subsidies, tariffs, tax loopholes, and competition-limiting regulations that, while benefiting their members, impose costs on the rest of society. By drawing on a unique pair of surveys—one targeted to managers of Russian regional lobbies, and the other addressed to managers of Russian industrial enterprises—we provide what we believe to be the most direct test of this hypothesis to date. The pattern of responses is striking. Managers of both the less encompassing lobbies and the enterprises belonging to those types of organizations display stronger preferences for narrowly targeted policy interventions. Our results, that is, strongly support Olson’s hypothesis.     

Why bother campaigning? Campaign effectiveness in the 2009 European Parliament elections

This paper explores the effectiveness of European Parliament candidates' campaigns. We analyze the relationship between candidates' spending and their likelihood of success, controlling for a range of relevant co-varying factors. We then investigate whether the effects of electoral spending are conditioned by two variables: ballot design and incumbency. We find that, ceteris paribus, spending was positively related to a candidate's likelihood of electoral success in the 2009 campaign, though this effect is small in scale. We also reveal that the electorally positive effects of spending are observable across both 'party-centered' and ‘candidate-centered’ ballot structures, and that there is some evidence that incumbent spending is less effective than challenger spending.     

Medicaid,the States and Health Care Reform

Health care reform in the US is relying extensively on Medicaid for achieving universal health coverage. This article addresses the question of whether Medicaid is an appropriate foundation for reducing the ranks of the uninsured, given its dependence on economic conditions and the vulnerability of state budgets, along with the ever-changing preferences of governors and legislators. This article assesses the effects of the ebb and flow of Medicaid policy-making on at‐risk populations and what this implies for the Affordable Care Act. By establishing a nationwide income floor at 133% of the Federal Poverty Level, the legislation eliminates eligibility inequities across the states. However, it is argued that when state budgets are strained, as they undoubtedly will be when the reform bill is fully implemented, local officials will downsize benefit packages, raise co-payments, mandate more managed care, and reduce provider payments, negatively affecting the availability, scope, and quality of services.     

Human Rights in the United States: The Unfinished Story of Political Prisoners and Cointelpro

For many years, black nationalists have tried to reopen the investigation into the FBI's COINTELPRO (COunter-INTELligence PROgram), which served to disrupt and destroy the black liberation movement and other progressive movements in the US. On September 14, 2000 in Washington, DC, Congressional Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) convened a "brain trust" on this subject as part of the Congressional Black Caucus' Legislative Conference, a yearly series of forums and panel discussions on issues of importance to the communities represented by the Caucus. The title of the McKinney panel was "Human Rights in the United States: The Unfinished Story of Political Prisoners/Victims of COINTELPRO." Six panelists presented information on the history of COINTELPRO and its relevance to the cases of the approximately 100 + political prisoners in US custody at this moment. Some of these prisoners have served 30 or more years; all have exceedingly long sentences. While the US government denies that it holds any political prisoners, the facts of the cases—and the connection of many cases to COINTELPRO operations—indicate otherwise. Several current and past political prisoners, most notably Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom) and Dr. Mutulu Shakur, along with released political prisoner Herman Ferguson, have consistently urged that the illegalities committed under COINTELPRO be examined further, and that compensation be made to the victims of these acts. The panel presentations excerpted below all point to the necessity of such an examination—and of releasing all of the US-held political prisoners in order to redress the crimes committed against progressive political movements under the aegis of COINTELPRO and other FBI counterintelligence programs. The significance of this issue to the community was illustrated by the tremendous crowd that gathered and participated in the discussion following the panel.